A life for a life
by Hypo
Summary: Alicia's companions have given up their lives to save hers. She is temped by Hel. Hel offers her a choice, she can give Hel someone else's life in exchange for the life of her friends... But the people she must kill somehow remind her of her dead companions, and her gentle personality doesn't make it any easier. The prequel to Ragnorok.Contains OCs
1. Chapter 1

A life for a life: chapter one.

Anyways… I'm not sure if I should do this or not but anyway… VP2 doesn't belong to me.

The man knelt before her, Gungnir in one hand. There would be no escape from death for the necromancer now; his soul was escaping his body. He raised his right hand, hoping to destroy the goddess; she had stolen Lenneth from him. The warriors behind her reacted; Rufus and Arngrim stepped forwards. Arngrim stepped forwards and grappled with the mage while Rufus attempted to push the goddess away to avoid the blow from the powerful lance. Too late. The goddess could feel her soul being ripped apart. The necromancer had enough fight in him to free himself from Arngrim, the warrior lying on the floor, slashing in a pool of his own blood, trying to keep his stomach in. He lunged at the goddess. Rufus stepped between the two at the last moment, Gungnir missing Valkyrie. Rufus stared ahead with unseeing eyes, pupils dilating into small holes, blood poured out of his side, where the lance ad cut him. His face was pale, his eyes rolled up in his head, and then he went still.

"Rufus!" the scream rang out, echoing in the large round room. Three orbs, submerged in fading light could be seen spiraling around one another, rising to the ceiling. Then they went dark. A girl wearing a brown vest, a blue and purple skirt and black leggings knelt on the crystal floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Rufus!"

A radiant light shone down upon the odd assortment of people who were in the room, the orbs were shining a light so brilliant that Alicia closed her eyes.

"open your eyes, Alicia," A voice called out to her, Alicia couldn't remember what had happened, she could only hope that the small glimpses she was getting about Rufus dying was only a dream. A woman clad in indigo armor stood before her. The woman had beautiful blonde, wavy hair that fell to her shoulder blades. It took her a while to figure out who was talking to her, she had only seen the goddess a few moments before their battle with lizard, as Silmeria had always resided within Alicia's own body. "Alicia" she said in the kind, controlled voice Alicia knew so well. Alicia could see clearly now, they were surrounded by never ending white light, there were two shadows standing either side of Silmeria, their features hidden by the overwhelming light, but Alicia could tell who they were, the shape of their armor giving their identities away.

The two shadows stepped forward, there features could be seen from where they were. A woman in blue armor stood on Silmeria's right; she had platinum hair and lovely blue eyes. The other woman stood on Silmeria's left was a stunning beauty with long black hair and dark purple armor, she had piercing golden eyes. Lenneth and Hrist had small but kind smiles on their faces. They looked at Alicia with something new in their eyes, they had always looked at her with kindness, but there was some part of them that was critical of her lack of strength and skill in battle, now they looked at her with respect. She remembered how fiercely she fought the sorcerer. Silmeria spoke up, "Even we goddesses of fate cannot control the lives of those around us. Our last gift to you is a chance to live on." Silmeria stepped towards her, armor clanking. "Promise me, Alicia, I already know that I won't live, neither will Rufus. Promise me you will live on with your head held high, make the most of your life and make me proud."

Alicia wanted to scream, to tell the blonde haired woman that she should be able to live on because she was so much more worthy than herself. But her words were caught in her throat; the only word she could get out of her mouth was a quiet "no." Silmeria took a small step forward forwards and took Alicia in her embrace. "Once we die, we can learn new things, we will not cease to exist. However, we will lose a quality in all of us that allows us to make changes to the future of the world. Achieve something great and change the world for the better. Promise me." Alicia heard the sternness behind the last two words. All she could do was utter "I will." Alicia returned her embrace.

Hi! Tell me via review if this is boring or not well written. Is it a nice length? I hope more chapters will come in the future.

I wish I had some comments and reviews to reply to so I can reply and make this longer but this is da first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

A life for a life chapter 2

I don't know if I need this disclaimer but I don't own Valkyrie profile 2.

Alicia knew when she woke that it was no simple dream. Brahms lay beside her on the crystal floor. She checked for his breath. He was dead. Whatever had happened to him, she had missed it, but she had a pretty good idea what had happened to him anyway; his lower body was trapped under a large stone. The tower had probably collapsed when Lezard died. There was no saving Brahms now, his soul was long gone. Alicia was alone now. She felt empty without Silmeria, but she knew that if Brahms hadn't survived the collapse of the tower, then it was probably the Valkyries protecting her.

Never in her life had Alicia felt like this. Not even when her own father had sent her away. Alicia wanted to weep; she wanted to melt into a river of tears so that all would know what had happened in this gods forsaken realm created by a twisted man who she would kill ten times over to save Silmeria. But she remembered her promise to Silmeria, one she was prepared to keep; it was Silmeria's dying wish. She would live the life she always wanted; a life where she was not constantly on the run, one where she wasn't always fighting, killing or hiding. She wanted a life where she could stop and smell a flower. A tear make its way down her cheek. Did Silmeria ever have a chance to do that? Did she simply shrug it off? Alicia thought about Rufus. She didn't know who she loved better, Silmeria or Rufus. She loved them differently. She had often thought in her head that she would have to let go of one of them, how awkward would it be if she lived with Rufus and Silmeria was still inside her body, occasionally surfacing. Now she realized that she could never find out.

Tears that she wasn't aware of followed the track that her first tear had left. Alicia wiped them away, she was no longer a warrior, but Silmeria had always told her not to show her weakness. It would leave her a victim to whatever fate could throw at her. Alicia took out the shard of the Water Mirror Hrist had taken with them. She wanted to go to Coriander. Coriander was a humble village, but it was a place for sinners and unworthy people redeemed themselves of their past mistakes and freed themselves of their dark past. This was where people worked side by side, ate side by side, fought their own battles side by side and what was most important to her; they shared their burdens side by side. Besides, the only people she wanted to talk to were Jessica and Millidia. She didn't want to go to Crell Monfreign. She didn't want to see those people pretend to love the gods so much. The gods were corrupt, they saw mortals as their puppets, and the only exceptions are Valkyries, who are often standing among humans. Alicia would be tempted to tell the people of Crell Monfreign that Odin was no more and the gods wouldn't hear their prayers, be they empty or genuine.

Alicia arrived at the village, startling a chicken, which left behind a golden egg. She put it in her pack, she didn't have a use for it, and so she remembered to give it to Zunde. Alicia, who was wearing Solomon's Ring called out to it. She poured out all of her troubles; she was also pouring tears by the end. The chicken stared at her blankly. "I have no idea what you should do next; my life is just limited to laying eggs and feeding. If you really want advice, you could talk to the wise dog in Crell Monfreign or if you want comfort, talk to the cat in Solde." Alicia didn't find her options very attractive, people in Crell Monfreign worshipped Odin and the chapel in Solde could be seen from the cats' dwelling place. A chapel dedicated to Silmeria. She couldn't bear to see those statues of the battle maiden.

She walked along to Jessica's house and held her breath as she opened the door.

Hi! (If you're still reading.) If you are, please review to let me know you are. I mean, why write if none will read? I have a life to live and I will only update if somebody is reading. Even if only one person is reading…

Anyway, I'll try to update once a week if anyone is reading. Tell me if this is boring.


	3. Chapter 3

A life for a life chapter 3

I don't own Valkyrie profile 2. Oh yeah… Also, if LotornoMiko is out there or if any of you have contact with her; tell her I am a huge fan of her fics.

The moment Alicia stepped into Jessica's home, warm air assaulted her. It was already night time; she had only stopped talking to the chicken when a woman started giving her a strange look. She greeted the woman warmly, giving her a hug. What she noticed that a warm fire was burning in the fire place, a sword hanging on the wall and a copy of 'Tactical guidebook to survival in battle volume 2.' Jessica clearly hadn't grown out of her warrior habits. What she hadn't noticed was that the door that once led to the garden was now changed and repainted so that it would do the job of leading to another room, and the house now had surfaces that looked more smoothly cut.

Alicia sat down next to her on the large rocking chair in front of the fire; both of them being petite, they fit perfectly. "Alicia? I can tell something is wrong, where are the others?" Alicia sat there, looking into the fire, she tried to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. She wanted to say something that would explain everything in a sentence so that she wouldn't break down in front of the older woman, but instead, she just said "Silmeria's gone. Rufus is gone." Alicia nearly choked, then Jessica said "It's okay, don't cry," when she saw tears welling in the girl's eyes.

"We can talk about it in the morning," Jessica said softly. "Do you want to stay at the inn or with us?" Jessica ran her hand down Alicia's hair. "I'll stay at the inn, I want to see Zunde." Alicia said, her voice shaking, she had only stopped crying. Although she had only said a few words, she felt better already, Jessica had a motherly presence about her. "No need, he's already here." Jessica smiled. "Zuuunnnde!" she said, her voice slightly quieter than the near silence that enveloped the house. The door opened. There he stood, wearing normal clothing, just like Jessica. No armor, no sword. "Oh." Was all Alicia could mutter. " Hey."

Alicia could not have been more surprised at what she saw. There was a bedroom on the other side of the door. Inside was a huge bed that held the einherjars' sleeping child, a mere slip of a girl who was no more than five. She had beautiful blonde curls which framed her rosy cheeks. Alicia could not tell any more about the girl who was buried snugly under her thick blankets.

Alicia left for the inn, even though she said she would only be there to see Zunde. She knew that if she stayed there, she would burst into tears. The girl looked too much like Silmeria. Many girls in the village look like that, lots of them have wavy blonde hair, rosy cheeks and high cheek bones which made their cheeks look slightly hollow.

She wondered if she would react like that every time she saw a person who looked like one of her companions. She lay down on her bed, letting the bed rise around her, breathing in the smell of fresh washed sheets and the fragrant wood that the inn was built out of. She could not be bothered changing, she slid under the soft covers quietly sang the lullaby Silmeria used to sing to her when she was a child. She felt like crying, but her eyes could not shed any tears. Instead, she relived in her mind some choice moments she had shared with Rufus and Silmeria. She remembered the time Silmeria told her to ask Rufus to go with them to Dipan. She mumbled and stuttered until Silmeria took over. That time when she had found the antique pendant she had pulled off her mother's neck. That time Rufus told her that she no longer needed the ring of Mylinn and she told him that it was now her good luck charm. She remembered the cool touch of metal when he slid it onto her fingers. She remembered when she and her companions made a narrow escape from Freya's wrath.

She remembered the time Silmeria tried to read Leone's mind. Had Leone really been Hrist all along. She hoped so; Hrist had never let her emotions come first, that much Alicia could tell. She sincerely hoped that the goddess had been the one to ask about Silmeria and talk about sisterly love. Alicia had once hated Hrist, but then she realized that Hrist was just doing her duty to Odin and the whole of Asgard, even though she loved her sister Silmeria, she had always been trapped between a rock and a hard place, and she died in that same position too. Hrist had always been trapped between her emotions and her duty, never being able to show affection to her sisters. This saddened her, sure, she had tried to kill Alicia, but ultimately, everyone's hate towards her should never have been directed at her, it should have been directed at Odin, who had torn apart the sisters.

Finally, Alicia's memories followed her into her sleep.

How was it! Is anyone reading this though?


	4. Chapter 4

A life for a life chapter 4

Please rate and review. The traffic graph says that people are viewing it, but nobody is rating or reviewing… This is my first fanfic after all, but it can't be that bad… right? Please tell me it isn't. :( Review… I have a life to go on with and if nobody reviews then I'll just stop writing this. 1 review is all it takes for another 2 chapters… Pweaasssseeee!

Upon awaking from her sleep, Alicia felt better. She sat before the mirror and combed through her hair with a red comb the inn supplied her with. Her blonde hair refused to stay in place and she looked like a bird had built a nest out of her hair. While brushing her messy strands, she thought about the dream she had had last night. She was fighting alongside her friends again and she for a while she was happy, she didn't feel empty, she felt like she was with Silmeria again. All was well until a lizard man's spear stabbed right through Rufus' torso.

The lizard man withdrew his spear and Alicia felt her rage bubbling up. She lunged forward and took down the lizard in one strike. She tried to use invoke feather on Rufus but it didn't work at all. Rufus just lay there on the ground, his blood escaping him. She hated it then, when she saw his life force steadily flowing out of his body. Alicia then heard a soft voice that was low and steady but unmistakably feminine. "Come her Alicia, it's going to be okay." It was Leone, holding Alicia in her arms in an embrace that turned her head so she could not see the pool of dark red that she had already taken a glimpse of. Then she woke up.

Alicia really didn't know if sleep was a form of mercy or cruelty. In her dreams she would lose that empty feeling, but it might also be cruel because she had seen too much bloodshed and she dreamt about her friends dying.

Super short chapter, I just want you all to know that lady Hel is coming. Stage time Hel… Get that bad wig on, right now!


	5. Chapter 5

A life for a life chapter 5

AAAAAHHHHGGG! No reviews? Oh well. I saw the traffic graph which shows more and more views. Since I don't have too many viewers, I can shower all of you with my attention and say that I love all of you enough to give you all a new chapter!

Alicia knew that she couldn't live like this forever. She seemed to see a little of everyone she travelled with in everybody she saw. Alicia left Coriander and decided to spend the night on the beach near Kathena plains. There was a lot of grass to burn and she knew the fire couldn't spread, as she was surrounded by sand. Sure the place held memories, but they were mainly good and she had never lingered there on her travels. The grass she burnt had a pleasant scent. They smelt like some scented candles she used to buy in Solde. She watched the as flowers turned into a pile of ashes. Alicia thought that they were like her friends. First there was a time when they did not trust each other, that was when the flowers had only budded and had not opened blossomed yet. Then there was a short time when they were all close to her when their friendship blossomed. Then they had been torn apart by fate, just like the flowers in the fire, disintegrating into a mere shadow of their former self, just like her memories of her friends. Her memories of them were mere shadows of her companions.

A cold gust of wind had blown out the fire. Alicia knew from her experience with fighting the undead that it was no natural gust. She also knew it was warm just before, and the shivers she got were the doing of a strong entity that meddled in necromancy. In the complete darkness of the new moon, there was one human figure that could be seen perfectly. The figure was unmistakably feminine; it was tall and emanated an eerie unnatural glow.

As the figure got closer, Alicia could tell that bells rang with each step the person took, announcing her presence. She could also see a bad purple wig on the woman's head. Alicia knew what that meant; as a child, she had been told stories about Hel, the queen of Nephilhiem. Nearly nobody in all of existence dared talk about that wig, partly because the only people who had made it out alive after seeing the dark goddess were sorcerers from Flenceburg. Alicia shuddered as she saw features on the woman's face. One side of the woman's face was the most perfect portrayal of feminine charm apart from Lenneth's face, Lenneth was no goddess of beauty, but she had a look of determination and ferocity. The other side of Hel's face was marked by scars which reflected the Goddesses experience in battle. The scars looked like she had been burnt by some type of fire which had a burn so harsh that the marks never faded away. There were also several cut marks.

Alicia watched as the goddess paused and stood there, surveying the girl. Then Hel spoke in a voice that echoed even though there were no walls for the sound to bounce off. "Alicia, you were once the human vessel for four souls, three of which were god's. Their pain and regret sticks to you like wet leaves. It is so strong and concentrated that most gods can sense it from halfway across Yddrassil. Alicia, I will offer you a bargain."

"What is it?" Alicia asked critically, Hel was notorious for tricking those who bargained with her. It was only natural, considering humans lived for such a short tie compared to her. She most likely learnt from being tricked herself. She had much more experience and she probably saw humans as mere ants. "It's rather simple, kill someone and bring the person's materialized soul to me. In return, the life of one of your companions will be restored."

"With their memories intact?"

"Of course."

"What's the catch?"

"None, I'm nearly offended you asked" Hel smiled mockingly.

"So what if I don't bring you the souls?"

"Nothing. Your friends won't come back to life, but I won't come back to pester you either."

"So what's in it for you?"

"Nothing."

They both knew that wasn't true.

"No, really, how is it going to help you?"

"You dare question my motives!" The goddess screamed with unconcealed madness in her eyes, "Well, you see, the high concentration emotions you carry around are attracting the souls of the dead. Not the worthy who have died in battle with honor, the ones who have twisted emotions and sadistic minds, the ones I need to build my armies. I want to ease those emotions to be eased so that they will stop following you around. Even if I capture them, they will just come back to you." Hel said, without any hints of emotion. Alicia could not even tell whether or not the goddess was lying. The woman had not looked away or twitched an eyelid; she didn't even smile or twitch the side of her mouth.

But gods like her knew what they wanted and they would stop at nothing to get it.

The goddess knew many things, but she could not tell the future. This Alicia girl was not very stable, she was unpredictable. Alicia seemed to be fighting some type of inner battle with herself. The dark queen could see everything inside almost all mortals. Alicia was one of the rare exceptions. One part of her screamed that she wanted her friends back. The other side of her which had once belonged to Silmeria was unreadable.

How did you like that?

If you review, you can tell me what you want to see next. This story has really gone out of control and so has my imagination. It has kind of taken a life of its own, unpredictable as Alicia has become.


	6. A life for a life chapter 6

A life for a life chapter 6

Hello… are you still reading… Anyone? Please review if any of you are.

Alicia was alone. With a snap of the fingers, Hel relit the fire and teleported away. The only thing that proved that the dark goddess had ever been there in the first place was the resounding sound of bells and the cold which could not possibly normal.

Alicia considered the offer; she would give anything to spend more time with Silmeria and Rufus. Let alone a few lives. But those souls might be innocent; they might have a long life ahead of them.

Alicia also remembered that Silmeria had told her to live with her head held high, and she refused to forget that, Silmeria knows best, she's right, she's always right.

But Alicia was a coward, and she knew she was. She could not imagine a life without her friends. All she wanted to do now is see an einherjar, so she left the warmth and light of the fire to find Sha-Kon.

Super short chapter, wanted to give a chapter to the few who will read this. All for you.


	7. Chapter 7

A life for a life chapter 7

I'm really not in the mood to write anything long. Nobody will review and if you, yes you, who may be the only one reading must review or consequences will be harsh, I will stop writing. RAGE! And to the people who either hate my writing or think it is boring, I might just keep writing to show you that you can't bring me down. That's right! If you are reading, know that I am banging my fingers against the keyboard because you won't review. If I get 1, just 1 review, I will be so happy I will write a full 1000-2000 word chapter, so review!

"So, they are REALLY dead, right?"

"Yup."

Sha-Kon couldn't believe this, after all their time together, Silmeria didn't seem like the type to be so easily defeated or affected by emotions. It wouldn't matter that the foe is stronger than her, Silmeria had a certain type of determination about her, she couldn't just die like that, and she was the type to be attacked, heal, and then attack her opponent in a near never ending battle. Silmeria had the heart of a champion, even if it was trapped underneath the body of a weak princess.

Alicia liked that about Sha-Kon, some might see her as an insensitive pig, like Sophalla did, but remarks and questions that were supposed to make her remember things she didn't want to rolled off like water beads on a piece of metal submerged on oil. Sha-Kon was never afraid to speak her mind, and before she saw the woman, she had dreaded her own emotions would go all over the place.

But the woman had a sort of charm about her which made everything she said feel like normal conversation.

"Hey, Alicia."

"Yeah."

"Remember when Lezard left us in Dipan castle?"

"Yeah," Alicia didn't know where this was going.

"Remember when he dropped the philosopher's pebble?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Well…Um, I kind of cut off a tiny sliver of it from the side."

"I'm shocked, but why are you telling me this?"

"Well I kind of ran a few experiments on it, and I found out that you can use it to find out about what happens after death."

"What do you mean?"

"You can see Silmeria and Rufus."

"What about the others?"

"All of them, except for Brahms, who doesn't have a soul."

"So what happens?"

"Well I really can't tell."

"Why?"

"Because I never shared a body with them, Silmeria and the Valkyries have become a part of you and Rufus was your own einherjar."

"Oh. So how does it work?"

"Well I kind of gathered sacred mirrors, evil eye gems, silver vine frames and mirror fragments, put the fragments together, stick the sacred mirror over it using that adhesive you get from giant snails, put the result in a silver vine frame, and coat the surface of the mirror in a paste made from the powder I got from crushing the Philosopher's stone, diablo horns, sacred spinals, the lotus on a lotus wand and the spearhead on a saints halberd. Add the evil eye gem to the top of the vine frame and Ta-Da! My skill, loot collecting practice, smarts and alchemy books make me a master alchemist, stronger than Lezard, I dare say. You look through the mirror and you can see the whole cycle of rebirth!"

Alicia zoned out while the archer babbled on about her achievements using empty and headless dolls.

Would Silmeria know that she had been considering Hel's offer. If Silmeria knew, Alicia could already picture in her head an angry Silmeria kicking her head in. On the other hand, Silmeria may see it as a sign of Alicia's love for her. Alicia already knew it would be the first. Silmeria is a no nonsense type person. The mirror Sha-Kon was gesturing at now lay on the ground. Alicia leaned over it, her eyes reflected back at her were full of longing, and she longed to see her friends. She had turned into a mindless monster; all she wanted was to see her companions. On her journey, she had seen several pairs of wings of darkness; Sha-Kon had neglected to acknowledge them. The pull that most people felt pulling them into the darkness never beckoned to her strongly, now, as she looked at it, she felt it call out to her.

Perhaps, it called out to the darkness in her heart.

If you don't review, you ain seeing any more of dis. Dat's right!


	8. Chapter 8

A life for a life chapter 8

Ha! Victory! 0 reviews. I will kill you all! But I know some of you read yesterday! That's right! I know it! I am all seeing! I was PMing LotornoMiko and found out that sometimes reviews are not always good. But unlike those idiots who blackmail you into reviewing their stories, I will say that I am now begging for a review, a positive one at that.

When the sun finally came into sight, Alicia was exhausted, she had spent the whole night lying awake, just staring at the water that looked so inviting and cold. It looked as if it could was away all of her troubles, though in reality, it was crawling with monsters. If she remembered correctly, the place was teeming with flying fish of much stronger than those on Kathena plains. The place was also home to many odd crocodiles which were actually mutations; old experiments from Dipan. She sat down, her arms holding her upper body up.

Alicia looked around her, she felt disoriented and sick. The last thing she saw were some flower petals flying above her head as her arms relaxed and her body fell to the cushion of grass. Then white light surrounded her, her head felt light headed and let her eyelids droop.

"What did I tell you?"

Alicia heard the voice, she knew it well, it belonged to the Valkyrie who once resided within her, She was glad that her mind had sent her such a comforting dream.

That's right! Super short! No reviews! I had to make this short for time reasons and I want to show those people out there who might not like my story that I will keep writing! And those who love it thank you. I really appreciate it. I love Silmeria's calm and controlled voice that so emotional at the same time, it's so expressive, it I could, I would deliver that thank you in her voice. Review and tell me if you love or hate this, because no reviews may result in buried story.


	9. Chapter 9

A life for a life chapter 9

NO!

Only review is by me! Thank you all the sweethearts still reading. This chapter is for you.

"Alicia."

"Silmeria?"

Alicia sat up. She saw Silmeria singing a song. She had heard that song somewhere. She couldn't remember. Silmeria sat on a large rock, singing in a sweet clear voice. Alicia was surprised; she had never heard Silmeria sing. The goddess always seemed strict and uptight. At the foot of the rock were many sheep, lambs and goats.

Alicia could not hear all of the words clearly, but she could hear the words princess, death, resurrection and love.

Unlike in her previous dreams, when she just knew what things meant, even when she could not hear or see it clearly, this felt like real life. She stepped closer to the woman singing, a harp in hand, the strings emitted a tune which was loud and clear, it repeated itself, it deemed as if the strings also made the sounds of voices, joining in the song.

It was clear now that the words were in some foreign language. As Alicia approached the woman, the world around her collapsed. The dream faded into a never ending tunnel of darkness. She felt like the darkness was enveloping her. It was warm and soft, like silk.

_When the princess falls,_

_The other world awakens._

_When the other world awakens, _

_The princess must fall._

_When will the tides of fate favor the virgin?_

_Who was given a second life?_

_When will the tides of fate bless the princess of the damned kingdom?_

_When will she truly live free from the chains which govern her life?_

She could understand them, even though she couldn't recognize the language, it was almost as if the voice could be heard, but the meaning was in her head. The words rhymed in whatever language the song was in. The language flowed beautifully and the voices were powerful, like the language had a power of its own.

Alicia awoke on Kathena plains. Even though the wind was cool and the grass around her swayed with it, she was sweating. When she opened her eyes, a concerned looking Sha-Kon was bent over, she was using union plumes, but they didn't work, Alicia knew she was trying in vain.

"Alicia! You're awake!"

"Yup."

"You stopped breathing for a few seconds."

That was not so surprising to Alicia, the song said that when she falls, the 'other world will awaken." That other world was probably the land of the dead. She had just seen Silmeria, who is already dead.

"I'm alright Sha-Kon; I think Silmeria just dragged me into the other world."

"Really?"

"Do you think I'm lying?"

Alicia was glad she was talking to Sha-Kon, the woman was an inventor, and she had an open mind to new ideas. If she was talking to Falx, he would have laughed and told her that she was too distraught.

"Did you bring anything back?" The inventor asked hopefully?

"I don't know. I was surrounded by never ending darkness."

"Maybe it has caught on your clothes, you never know."

Sha-Kon reached into Alicia's pockets without asking. She found something. Sha-Kon's hands closed around it.

When Sha-Kon withdrew her hand. Her hand held a piece of pure darkness. It looked like silk, but it shimmered, it had very vague tones of grey, but it seemed to reflect the light at different angles even though nobody was moving it. It flickered, not with light, but with darkness, Alicia never thought that was possible. A black light is just dark, right?

"I might run a few tests on this."

"And I'm leaving for Crell Monfreign."

Alicia took the mirror Sha-Kon had offered her and left.

That was the first time in days that Sha-Kon saw her smile.

Jessica sat in her rocking chair and smiled, even though she was now a human with a second chance, she still felt the feelings of the girl who was once her human host. It would seem that Alicia got over her urges to yell at people in Crell Monfreign.

Millidia felt Alicia's presence nearing; she smiled and told her maidservant to set up an extra bed. She wanted to be a hospitable host.

"Hi!"

Alicia seemed to be okay; she had a slight smile on, but Millidia, who was once her einherjar knew that smile, it was a forced one.

To Alicia, Millidia had always been like a mother. Like Silmeria, Millidia filled a spot in her heart that was missing. Lydia thought so too, Lydia had always been wary of her mother, she thought that Millidia was a much better mother. The people of Crell Monfreign of course thought they looked about the same age and assumed they were sisters.

Alicia sat down and ate dinner with them; she had managed to tell them what had happened without getting choked up.

That night, Alicia lay down in her bed. She was not used to the sheets made of satin and silk. Lydia had inherited the throne; all other heirs were already dead or labeled 'not pious enough.' When they checked her full name, they thought that she was named after Lydia, the daughter of the holy maiden Lylia, who she actually is.

That was when the princess of the Dipan felt cold all over and heard the ringing of bells.

Ah! If you don't review, then I won't know what to write! I'm thinking that this will be a turning point in the plot. When she rejects or accepts Hel's offer. Want you all to review and tell me what you want to see. If you don't, then I'll just have to go with whatever comes to mind first with the most possible outcomes to keep my options open. Most of this story has been like that but this is a really important part of the plot. Please review. Don't flame or be super critical of the goat song. (Super spoiler, Goat song means tragedy in Greek theatre.) But friendly criticism accepted! If you can come up with something that means the same thing but rhymes, tell me! I will acknowledge the source of course.

Oh yeah… To commemorate this day, a whole week of me writing for , here is a little… snippet. Contains me + characters

Me and Hrist

"_Hey Hrist, do you think this is boring?"_

"_What, you mean this fic?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Well I think I have only played a tiny part and no profit is made, so I'm not being paid. Hurry up Tri-ace and Square Enix; produce a game with me as the lead role. I'm going broke! If I'm in the next chapter and I'm singing the goat song, I'm sure my fans will review."_

_(Pulls at her hair in distress at the tiny role she always gets.)_

Me and Alicia

"_You got the lead role; you don't even have to share it with Silmeria!"_

"_I know right? She was so annoying in the game; she just popped up out of nowhere and took my lines. Then I had to act sad when she went away."_

"_How do you think I'll get more reviews?"_

"_Me and Rufus action. As much as I hate having people cake my beautiful face in blush makeup, I'll do it for the reviews. And that goat song sucked. "_

"_I don't think I can include you and Rufus action, this is T rated. God and you try do the goat song."_

"_If you write fan fiction, then why do you suck at this so much?"_

"_God, Alicia, you can't just ask why I suck at this."_

Review to see more of these snippets.


	10. Chapter 10

A life for a life chapter 10

Thanks everyone! Even though you haven't reviewed, I know that you are all getting your dose of this fan fiction because the traffic graph tells me so. Anyway, thank you to the estimated 4 people out there who have read every chapter, so thank you for being so supportive of my fic. I love you. There have only been 63 views in total over 2 weeks, so you 4 are very important to me. Sorry about the delay, I was at camp. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

The ringing of bells woke the half asleep princess. Alicia knew who was coming; the cold, eerie presence and glimpses of a bad purple wig told the princess that the queen of the undead was here to make sure that Alicia was at least considering her deal.

Alicia shifted in her bed so that she could see Hel standing in front of her, the dark goddess turned around like Freya always had during Alicia's short meeting with her. Hel's feet floated above the ground, her long robes had bells on some parts of the hem, which just touched the ground; it reached below her. On the wooden floor below the goddess, a fiery seal of some sort stayed in check, its flame did not burn the costly robe or the wooden floor. The seal was round, it had three symbols inside it that Alicia didn't recognize, the others were extremely strong runes, and she could only recognize some creation runes and some runes that she had heard of, the einherjar mages who once travelled with her had told her about those runes. Those einherjar were full of knowledge, they had lived in the past when humans lived in touch with the land around them, and when they died, they saw the world through the relic they were sealed in, then, when Silmeria was awakened, they observed the world through her eyes and gained both Alicia's and Silmeria's knowledge.

Those einherjar had shown her these runes, she recognized one, from the east, it represented death and destruction, and it countered creation runes. Another was a shadow rune, it could create illusions and it was commonly used in the underworld to stop Odin from entering, it came from the south, Aegis told her once that it came from a foreign land in the far south where people had ash and dirt colored skin and scraped colors into their skin with blades covered in pigment. Another was a never ending knot from the west. Each was strong enough to kill any entity in all of existence three times over. Alicia could only imagine what lengths Hel had gone to in order to obtain these runes. The goddess scowled at Alicia. "I would kill you right now if those souls didn't follow you even in death."

"Is that how little life means to you?"

"I don't know anymore, I have not been alive for a long time."

Alicia stared at the goddess in the purple wig. The queen of the undead had a flicker of sadness in her eyes when she said that. The goddess was a master in both lying and hiding her emotions. Was life so precious that Hel would like to live again? Was Silmeria's gift to her so sought after?

"Are you thinking about my… Offer?"

"Yes, but I haven't decided if I'm prepared to kill."

"Well, I have all the time in the world. You on the other hand, are mortal. If the offer was made to anyone else in the mortal plane, they would agree, but you, you're an exception, you carry the purity of the goddesses who were inside you."

"I told you, I will think about it," that was a reckless and dangerous way to speak to the goddess, Alicia realized.

Hel did another turn, then left, leaving the sound of bells to echo down the dark, empty halls of the holy castle. Proof that the dark entity had ever been there was on the wooden floor boards. A brand from the seal was left there.

Alicia could feel her eyelids growing heavier, was she under a sleep enchantment? She no longer cared. She drifted into the sleep.

A voice sang a song a sweet song to her. It was deep, and was less sweet than Silmeria's voice, but it was strong and clear. A dark haired woman sat on a tree. At first, Alicia didn't recognize her, then the woman opened her eyes, she had piercing golden eyes. Hrist. The Valkyrie looked so different without her armor; she looked more delicate and gentle.

"_When will the princess_

_Who is trapped in the coils of night escape the shadow of darkness and return to the light?_

_When will the heir to the damned kingdom put down her burden and live with her head held high?"_

The lambs which gathered around the tree crowded around Alicia. She felt as if she was the center of this goat song.

Then Alicia felt her eyes open.

Hey! Nobody reviewed, so I won't do more snippets, you probably didn't like it, but I'm not doing it mainly because of my lazy attitude, I'm really tired.

Anyway, I love you all and please review. I really hope you like this fic, but numbers are inconsistent. So I'm not sure if you guys like this, thank you to the 4 who read every chapter. Also, do you think that I should have a day every week when I post a new chapter?


	11. Chapter 11

A life for a life chapter 11

Ah! Long time no see. I see there are many more views now, however, everybody is very quiet and nobody is reviewing, it doesn't matter anymore. Enjoy.

Alicia left Crell Monfreign; she did not forget what had happened between her and Hel, or her odd dream of Hrist. Alicia thought about what it could possibly mean while walking along the walking tracks that lead to Coriander. She took another bite of her oat cake. She moved briskly, she had work to do.

Alicia was only trained to do one thing; fight. The one thing she could make a living out of with her head held high was be a demon slayer.

She had holy crystals and gems, randrid's blade, holy sword, sword of the Silvans, Karnaut, Hirid's blade, Levantine and her assortment of magic; she would not fail. In Coriander, the inn keeper was offering a reward to whoever was able to slay a wendigo in Ancient Forest; it was stopping him from collecting some herb that he needed. It was common knowledge that Sha-Kon had died in that patch of herbs; she tried to use it in one of her experiments, and then was poisoned by the flowers of the plant, only the roots could be used for medicinal purposes.

However, Sha-Kon, who hailed from lands far away, did not know about those plants.

Alicia was outside the flimsy wooden fence outside Coriander when she heard it. A sweet voice singing

_When the princess falls,_

_The other world awakens._

_When the other world awakens, _

_The princess must fall._

_When will the tides of fate favor the virgin?_

_Who was given a second life?_

_When will the tides of fate bless the princess of the damned kingdom?_

_When will she truly live free from the chains which govern her life?_

_When will the princess_

_Who is trapped in the coils of night escape the shadow of darkness and return to the light?_

_When will the heir to the damned kingdom put down her burden and live with her head held high?_

Alicia vaguely remembered those words; she could tell that the words were in an ancient tongue that she had heard before. Then how did she understand it? Was it the einherjar?

Alicia stood inside the village and saw a young girl herding goats. The woman was singing the song and leading the goats into a paddock. What was this mysterious song?

She walked up to the girl, who paused in her tracks, clearly intimidated my Alicia's false air of power; some small shred of her still held the timid princess she once was, before she experienced regret, guilt and sadness beyond what any living mortal has ever experienced. "What is that song?"

The girl looked up with soft blue eyes. "It's the song that we sing to herd the goats. Our land was found by a group of people from a place called Greece. They sang this song to herd the goats, everybody sings it now, and it has been passed from generation to generation. It's called the goat song, in their language, it means sad story."

Alicia remembered the feeling of being in the middle of the circle of goats; it felt as if the world was centered around her. Surely Silmeria would not give her a life full of sadness? She had to get to the bottom of this, what was Silmeria trying to tell her? That she was destined to live in sadness? No, life was a gift, even Hel lusted after it, which would mean that even Odin would probably want it too if he was not killed.

Alicia would think as she went, first she would hunt that demon; she walked into the inn, wondering what type of demon it was. She was glad she had learnt demon destroyer and unholy purifier from her einherjar; the demon would be a handful.


	12. Chapter 12

A life for a life chapter 12

Nobody has read chapter 11? I think it's worthwhile even though the fic is slow paced! God, unsupportive people! Nah! I love you all! I think that the battle scene in this chapter will be okay!

Alicia walked into the forest, she was sure she could slay the demon. It was, according to the innkeeper, a sort of artificial life form. Alicia ducked down in the long grass. The demon was drinking water. The demon was a golem built in the image of a greater demon; it had two diablo horns on its head, it was a grey-purple color. It was holding the wand of the apocalypse, unlike other demons, which carried simple lotus wands. Alicia could see its soul, something she picked up from Silmeria, who chose only the bravest souls for einherjar.

The soul was odd and twisted, unlike any other soul she had seen. It looked like a mere fragment of a soul, but that fragment was concentrated beyond any other soul, it was like an acumination of hatred, greed and malice. The soul was so concentrated with these that Alicia was about to mistaken it for pure darkness, which seemed to make up for the parts of the soul that were missing.

It looked up and turned around. It looked straight at Alicia. Its eyes were white, like a dead person. Alicia looked around and made a quick dash for the trees. She threw some small knives that her einherjar had given her. The small lines attached to them allowed her to drain its power. Her quick move gave her time to think, the demon filled the air around it with the scent of the herbs used to extract souls and create the human sacrifices she had encountered in Yggdrasil, and it should be vulnerable to holy attacks.

The small blades seemed to do nothing. The blades hardly penetrated the armor; it was made of dragon scales. Alicia took out Randrid's blade and performed spiral pierce, the attack was caught on the armored skin of its front. Just when Alicia thought that the blade would slip off the scaled armor harmlessly, the turning thrust of the sharp blade suddenly caught a hold of the body where on scale met another. The sword pierced the armor. Alicia turned the blade in a clockwise direction, causing the demon to howl a high pitched scream at the canopy above them. Alicia withdrew her blade and stepped back, was that it?

The demon's wound was spraying blood everywhere. Then it seemed to heal, it was putting itself back together cell by cell. She had seen this when Lezard lost an arm or leg to the true Valkyrie's sword.

This would not do. Alicia could feel the cold feeling she got whenever a demon was about to use dark savior, she felt prickles under her shin, then she felt it, spikes and glass made of alchemy pierced through her skin. The pain was unbearable, she felt like she was going to pass out. White sparks appeared before her eyes. She had to do something fast, she used heal. Much better. The monster swung the staff at her. She fell to the ground. It stood over her, staff raised over its head; it wanted to finish her off. Alicia raised her sword arm.

The blade made contact. Alicia dared not open her eyes, she could feel warm blood on her skin, she didn't know if it was her own or the demon's, she trusted her instincts and continued her massacre on the demon.

She could feel the demon retaliating, the cold skin of its hands wrapped around her neck. Alicia waved her sword wildly, there was no movement. She opened her eyes.

The demon lay on the ground; Alicia remembered what Arngrim had taught her, she stripped the demon of anything valuable, and then threw the hide in the water to stop it from regenerating.

The things she collected would fetch a good price and the reward was pretty good considering the innkeeper lived in the poor village of Coriander.

Alicia walked away, content with her work. She hadn't worked out so well in ages and she didn't feel guilty because the life form was artificial. But one thing bothered her, who would have created such a strong demon and how did the creator have access to such valuable equipment?

**This is the end; the next chapter will be chapter 1 of Ragnorok. I haven't gotten 1 review yet but it's alright because this is my first fanfic.**

**Thanks to all the people who read past chapter 1.**

**Ragnorok should be up sometime in the next week. **

**I love you all. **


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